Timbuk2 Transit Laptop Briefcase

I feel like the Transit is underappreciated in Timbuk2’s lineup for how unique it is and how ideal it is as a daily driver. That's a shame, because for anyone looking for decent carrying options for work or school there are a million options and most of them are bad/ugly! This one should be a top contender for the category of best bag if you're shopping for the best. The biggest factor for the Transit is the look. Here's why: it's not too gaudy or overdone, and it's not too subdued - it's the goldilocks zone of cool. The trouble when selecting a bag you use for school or work (ESPECIALLY WORK) is that it needs to be appropriate for any situation one might take a bag into. It would look stupid to take a $400 leather bag into many kinds of client meetings, and it looks equally goofy to take a beatup Samsonite laptop briefcase bag into lots of meetings with well dressed folks. It's the perfect look, sitting between not too much and not too little. The second major factor is the size. Part of the problem with a lot of Timbuk2’s other very wonderful bags in it's messenger line is that they're basically just huge sacks. A lot of reviewers make the mistake of saying the Transit bag is too small, but you need to ask yourself what you really need to bring. Are you just filling up space or do you really need all that room? Is this a chicken and egg thing? This briefcase, again, is just right. It's small and compact, but still fits all the necessities. I've included a picture of my daily kit, but I'll swap gear out depending on the situation. The amount of equipement the Transit can carry for such a small bag is impressive! When flying for work I'll swap out an organizer to make space for a battery pack for phone/tablet charging, and when flying for fun I'll make space for the charger and a Nintendo Switch, and this acts as my under-seat carry-on. It works in literally any configuration in any setting. Part of what makes the size so great is that its thickness is restricted by a rigid structure. Some reviewers have noted how strangely THIN it is, but to me this is not a negative, it’s the reason the bag is good. Thick bags looks stupid, and they tend to balloon out like a big sack with all these straps dangling... A thin bag looks professional. It also forces you to think about what is really necessary to bring and what you can live without. The third and last factor is the organization. The pocket layout makes carrying the load easy, nothing really gets lost. Cords go in the two front pockets, laptop goes in the back pocket, paper goes flat again the back of the bag. Keycards, glasses, and pens go in the napoleon hatch pocket on the flap. It’s extremely elegant in practice! To close up, this might seem overly detailed for a messenger/briefcase. But in daily life there aren’t a lot of things that matter a whole lot. You choose what has value to you, and for some people the bag they throw their crap into isn’t on the list. And that’s cool. But if it DOES matter to you, then this bag is good and I would recommend it. It’s also cheaper than most of the other Timbuk2 bags! AND I got it “refurbished” for like $20 off the list price. Timbuk2 makes a couple briefcases that are actually nicer and better than this, but they’re upmarket and into the hundreds of dollars range. At that point we start getting into the “too much bling” level. For the money you can’t beat The Transit.